Review: SIDEWAYS #1

SIDEWAYS No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Dan DiDio and Kenneth Rocafort
DIALOGUE: Dan DiDio and Justin Jordan
ART: Kenneth Rocafort
COLORS: Daniel Brown
LETTERS: Carlos M. Mangual
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2018)

Rated “T” for Teen

Sidways created by Kenneth Rocafort and Dan DiDio

“Fun and Games”

DC Comics has launched a new superhero comics initiative, “The New Age of DC Heroes,” coming out of its Dark Nights: Metal event miniseries.  This line of comic books will consist of eight new comic book series:  The Curse of Brimstone, Damage, The Immortal Men, New Challengers, The Silencer, The Terrifics, The Unexpected, and the subject of this review, Sideways.

Sideways is written by co-creator Dan DiDio, co-creator Kenneth Rocafort and Justin Jordan; drawn by Rocafort; colored by Daniel Brown; and lettered by Carlos M. Mangual.  Sideways focuses on a Puerto Rican high school junior who can create rifts in midair to leap through dimensions at will.

He accidentally fell through a rift into the dark matter dimension (as seen in Dark Nights: Metal).  Sideways #1 finds Derek James invading the personal space of his girlfriend, Ernestine a.k.a. “Ernie.”  She knows about Derek's power to create rifts in midair.  She is the one who designed and created the uniform that allows Derek to become the new superhero, “Sideways.”  Derek dons his new costume and goes “rifting,” introducing the world to what it means to go “Sideways.”  Not everyone or every entity is exciting about that.

I enjoyed the first “New Age of DC Heroes!” comic book, Damage, but I did not enjoy the second one, The Silencer.  “Sideways” is a little better than The Silencer.  I am overly fond of artist Kenneth Rocafort's overly cute drawing style.  However, the story has some potential.  All I can tell you is that I am genuinely curious about Sideways.  I don't think that it will be a great comic book, but if the creators try something different from the same-old-DC/Marvel-Comics, this could be unique.

Seriously, y'all, we can hope.

5.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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